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A BURDEN ON PARENTS
& STUDENTS
Since
the early 1980’s private tutoring of middle and high school
students has been an off-again, on-again affair. Mainly because of
the highly-competitive college entrance exam, it has became common
practice in Korea for parents of middle or high school students to
force their children to attend after-school classes at private
academies, or “hagwons” as they are known in Korean.
Parents
with especially unmotivated students usually hire a private tutor,
usually a college student, to give personalized instructions on the
basic exam subjects of English, Korean, and mathematics.
The
private tutoring has been a boon to teachers and college students
serving as private tutors but a burden to the young students who
have to spend their teenage years sitting with their noses in books
as well as a huge financial burden on their parents.
1996
statistics showed that the average spending on education for
families with middle and high school children was about 25% of the
family budget. The actual amount spent to provide private classes
for children was about 300,000 won per month, more than 2 times the
amount spent for food, medical care, or for clothing.
The
financial burden on parents has been so great that private tutoring
of middle or high school students was banned by the government
during the 1980’s. Even worse that the fact that many families
struggled to pay the exorbitant fees charged by private tutors and
private institutes, students whose parents could not afford to pay
for private lessons were placed at a severe disadvantage. Getting
into college depended more money than on brains.
In
spite of the ban, however, it was hard for the government to stop
the tutoring completely. The ban was unenforceable, so the
government relented and permitted private tutoring to begin
again.
One
of the reasons for the revision of the college entrance system was
to wipe out the practice of private tutoring, but the exact
opposite occurred. In the past English, Korean, and mathematics
made up 60% of the test, so only those subjects needed extra study.
But since students’ high school grades will now be one deciding
factors for admission to college, private tutoring has been
extended to include all subjects.
There
doesn’t seem to be any easy way to end private tutoring. This is
bad news for parents but good news for the thousands of college
students who support themselves.
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boon:
benefit, advantage, gain
burden:
problem, inconvenience, obligation
sitting with their
noses: be engrossed, be focused, be occupied
exorbitant:
very expensive, excessive, very high
revision:
amendment, adjustment, change or correction
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Questions for
Discussion
1. What is your view of private tutoring conducted by college
students?
2. Have you ever earned money as a private tutor? If so, when, and
how was your experience? Was it enjoyable? Why or why not?
3. What do you think of private academies (hagwons) teaching
evening classes for high school students? Do you think they’re
good, or do you wish they could be closed? Why do you think
so?
4. What do you think of the fees that are charged by private
academies? by private tutors? Do you think the fees are too high or
are they just right? Explain your opinion.
5. If the educational system were changed enough to eliminate the
need for private tutoring, how much of an affect would it have on
college students who depend on the money? Would it
have a big effect or not?
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加载中…
(2009-11-07 00:47:41) 
